Concept: Future of Gear

[Dystemper]

So you like, boring stat sticks for gear? That is fine of course everyone is entitled to their opinion. What about the Legion legendaries those had effects, also bad? A bit RNG is fine imo. So if you get the option to add/change the effect you can just reroll it.

YEs I want boring stat sticks that I can work for and not worry about RNG, As for effects, thats what we had enchanting and glyphs for. LEts go back to that to where I can enchant my gear with what I want when i want where i want

[tyrlaan]

In my opinion the future of gear is actually trying to improve how it worked in the past rather than keep trying more iterations of a missplaced system that fits better on an ARPG than it does on a MMORPG like WoW. They did have some good ideas along the way, but they keep mixing them in the wrong way and i'm afraid that won't change.

In my opinion gearing should be a simple but expansive system that is easy to undestand and know if something is an upgrade as soon as it drops.

1. Instanced content gear should be more deterministic and heavy RNG systems should always have alternatives.

For example, if we mix WF/TF with the old valor point system to upgrade gear is quite easy to figure out how it should work: Gear usually had 2 aviable upgrades, you had to spend valor points for them and you got valor points by completing content and WF/TF means that sometimes gear can come with a higher ilvl.

So we mix them and that means that RNG can make the gear you just got to have between 0 and 2 upgrades, but since you are still getting valor points for killing the boss, you'll eventually be able to upgrade your gear even if you didn't get lucky this time.

This same concept can be applied to most of the heavy RNG systems attached to gear. Gem slots? ideally those should not be affected by RNG, but even if they are, an alternative system to add gem slots to your gear should exist.

RNG can make your day better with a lot of luck, but for that system to really work there needs to be something else supporting it that allows the player to just work towards a goal that he can control. In many ways the current system is really twisted because it makes the most common outcome (no WF/TF) make the player feel bad while the good outcome bring relief more than it does happiness.

2. Alternative progress system (specially if power is involved) should not be attached to gear that is meant to be changed.

And by this i mean that while there is criticism to be made to the artifact weapons or the heart of azeroth, the good thing about them is precisely that they are item slots that you keep upgrading and you are not going to change them at all. As long as traits and progress are all attached to that kind of gear things can work out. Sure, we could discuss about AP grinds, but that's an entire different subject.

But when you have something like azerite armor or corrupted gear then we have a problem. First because the utility of the gear the player just got depends on something else and that should not be the case, second because that kind of convoluted systems make it really hard to tell if something is an upgrade or not. If a group of players proved to be good enough to kill a boss, none of them should be rewarded with something they won't be able to use unless they achieve whatever level on whatever potato thingy or something they need to consult with a third party website to know how good it is.

There is room to the corrupted gear concept, azerite traits, even benthic gear traits, there sure it is! but just not as something that comes attached to gear when it drops. It can work as something you can attach to your gear. It can be a boss drop, it can be something you have to buy from a vendor... the point is that the player has control over it without the system messing up with his gear, even if RNG is involved in getting it.


So to sum up: make gearing simple, give players more control over it and expand upon in ways that don't negate those two basic concepts.

Love it.

I think you nailed it with bad luck protection in point 1 and really called out the root of what makes azerite gear painful compared to our legion weapons in point 2.

[Hoeth]

I'd prefer FAR less RNG but far more stat customization. As it is no primary stats are weak for too many specs, and there is no real way to stack any particular secondary that may change game play. I miss the time when most gear had multiple sockets and most gear slots had some sort of enchant available. I don't know why Blizzard became obsessed with "we want you to equip the item NOW" vice giving some depth to customization. The multilayered RNG design does make it so no one ever really reaches BiS, but I think its safe to say that design also tends to permanently burn players out from the game.

[Dystemper]

Why dont we have a system where each class and spec can add effect. BUt nothing so OP or overpowering that it would be game breaking. GEar needs to be simple, talents, spells and other means should be used to enhance them. I would like to see something like the Forge where you can use old gear to break down and have your new gear abosorb it . I want more customization. I want epic gear to be epic again. I want swords that have ranged attacks, Bows that shoot lightning , maces that cause sonic booms etc etc

[dcc626]

Can we please go for less RNG and not more?

just cleanse your corrupted gear. voila - basic gear.

[Gourami]

Yes, please, more random procs that are completely out of my control. There's nothing I want more than to press Fireball and see 5 numbers, 7 buffs and 3 different damage sources in my damage meter pop up - even better when I'm also getting some debuffs on top of that, because nothing screams fun more than randomly debuffing myself, just exactly my cup of tea.

+1, why did wow become this vomit of stuff everywhere you look...

[Frostyfire14]

New Concept for gear

No Titanforging.
Valor upgrades gear.
Valor obtained by killing Mythic Bosses only.
Mythic Raiding gear is the best gear in the game. Period.

The end.

[Dystemper]

Also, more gun options for hunters and rogues. Dual wielding pistols. Ansd either a currency system thaat lets us buy the gear we want, or say you get some material like Azerite that you can then have forged into Armor or a weapon, ring, trinket of your choosing , Then you build up stats and effects as you go from a pool that lets you make the choices

[Hoeth]

In many ways the current system is really twisted because it makes the most common outcome (no WF/TF) make the player feel bad while the good outcome bring relief more than it does happiness.

This exactly. I get the same feeling of "victory" when I finally get an item via valor/conquest/rep/titan residium that I want, but I don't get the frustration and rage of NOT getting the item after killing the same boss 15 times because I've planned it out. There is still the anticipation and payout of getting the item regardless of its on schedule or due to getting lucky.

[Dystemper]

My biggest hope is they get better gear designers. MAybe budget more money towards them because last few expansions most gear has been disgusting

[Gasparde]

just cleanse your corrupted gear. voila - basic gear.

What an awesome concept.

I get a piece of gear, YAY. Oh wait, but I can't use it because it'll probably kill myself. So if I want to use it now I either have to remove what makes it special or wait for 2 months before I have enough corruption resist so that I can actually use it.

Like, people where fucking mad about not being able to equip new items on the spot because of shit like enchants, gems and reforges.
Can't fucking wait to store every bit of corrupted gear for 2 months because you just never know when this shit just because broken with no downside. But yea, I could also just not do that and remove the corruption - just as reasonable as not enchanting and gemming my gear. Who needs that shit anyways, right?

[Hoeth]

New Concept for gear

No Titanforging.
Valor upgrades gear.
Valor obtained by killing Mythic Bosses only.
Mythic Raiding gear is the best gear in the game. Period.

The end.

I can't argue that mythic raiding isn't BY FAR the most tedious and laborious form of content, but I can't agree that is should be the ONLY way to achieve the best gear. With FAR more players involved in M+ now there should be a way to achieve similar gear from hitting really high keys/ratings. Same for Gladiator-level PVP.

I cleared the highest mythic, and heroic before they existed, raids for nearly 8 years and as I grew older that shit became less and less tolerable. I feel comfortable saying I was a very good mythic raider for a long time and I still have the skill/experience but not the time nor inclination to sit at my computer for a solid 3+ hours multiple times per week on a schedule anymore. I also lost the long time friends that I could get 2200+ with in PVP and there is no way I'm going to deal with the random PVP "community anymore". I still do casual stuff in the game too, but I'm still playing because M+ allows me to continue doing challenging content with a far more relaxed time and social requirement. If that was taken away I'd probably lose interest in the game entirely.

I've always been of the opinion that the best rewards should be achieveable both via very high player skill OR very high time investment. If you make mythic raiding the only way you basically make the only path via very high time investment.

[Thes]

I would love it if we just went back to wrath/cata style of gearing instead of all the random crap we get now... Even classic's model is more fun and rewarding even if it is a bit too simple and lacks customization.

[Aphrel]

Having a few procs wich you really do notice is great. But having 14 item slots proccing things randomly and out of my control is gonna get boring really fast.

A imo better implementation is to ahve thigns proc at certain times.
Etc Increases Xstat by Y for 10sec after using Z spell.'

Or, your X spell Has a Y chance of "insert some cool effect, cd reset? splash dmg? increased area of effect? Increased duration? New mechanical function like rooting/stunning mobs?